Building walls



A. PAOLELLA BUILDINGWALLS May 20, 1958 4 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed May 22,1953 7 R 0 0 i1. A/ mrr. P4 42 m WM 4 M M 4 u Q Y B ATTORNED av.) x-

May 20, 1958' A. PAOLELLA 2,835,126

BUILDING WALLS Filed May 22, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .INK/ENTZOR Wui 6 BYGZUHMJW ATTORNEYS May 20, 1958 A. PAOLELLA 2,835,126

BUILDING WALLS Filed May 22, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 m M "MS a BEA RINGSURF/1 C55 INVENTOR BY @uWLnJ m ATTORNEYS A. PAOLELLA BUILDING WALLS May20, 1958 Filed May 22, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ill-l INVENTOR al/JuaL Gll-m ATTORNEYS United States Patent BUILDING WALLS Alfred Paolella,Hamden, Conn., assignor to Plasticrete Corporation, Hamden, Conn., acorporation of Connecticut Application May 22, 1953, Serial No. 356,6564 Claims. or. 72-32 This invention relates to building walls and it hasparticular reference to a new method of erecting a wall of a buildingand to a new wall construction or assembly, the invention being ofparticular advantage as applied to exterior walls such as foundationwalls which are subjected to soil pressure, although not limited to thisparticular application.

An object of the invention is to improve the practice or procedure andthe wall construction especially in making a foundation wall, with aview to reducing the amount of skilled labor which is required andspeeding up the erection process.

Another object is to provide a wall structure of low cost possessinggreat strength and durability.

A further object is to provide a foundation wall whichcan be erected ina comparatively short time with a minimum amount of skilled labor andwhich is nevertheless of such structure that a Wall comprisingrelatively narrow blocks is hightly resistant to soil pressure.

in the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary somewhat diagrammatic perspective view partiallybroken away, showing a portion of a foundation wall constructed inaccordance with the invention, the back fill being shown in brokenlines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is :a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a stage in the construction of acorner portion of a building;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section on line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of a portion of a building wall in which theblocks are of modified form;

Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged sections respectively on lines 10-10 and11-11 of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 12 is a partial section taken on line 12--12 of Fig. 10.

The wall construction shown in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, by way ofexample, may be assumed to be part of a foundation wall of a house orother building where a substantial part ofthe wall is below grade,several wall sections being built up from concrete footings to asutficient distance to support floor joistsof a first story. Theconcrete footings report wall sections including concrete blocks, andthe footings, in this particular instance, also support a concretefloor. The corner construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8 may be assumed tobe part of the building which is partially shown in Fig. 1. The concreteblocks which are used are in this example rectangular cellular blocks ofthe same general type shown in Patent blocks.

2,835,126 Patented May 20, 1958 No. 2,493,547 of Paolella and Paolella,dated January 3,

of a wall section, a number of blocks of the general form just mentionedare employed, but these blocks, instead of being the ordinary blockshaving molded upper and lower surfaces, are of a diiferent kind in thattheir upper and lower surfaces are ground to smooth them and to providethem with very accurately placed upper and lower bearing surfaces. Thefirst course is laid Very accurately upon the concrete or other footingwhich is provided and the second course laid upon the first withoutmortar between the courses and Without mortar in the end joints, thepregrinding of the upper and lower surfaces of the blocks enabling thesecond and subsequent courses to be built up on the first to form a wallof the requisite height in which all of the blocks are in correctrelationship to each other. The uppermost course of blocks has itscomponent blocks bonded together in a suitable manner, as hereinafterdescribed, and there is provided a member upon which floor joists cansubsequently be supported. After all of the blocks of the section havebeen set in place, a scratch coat of cement-sand plaster is applied tothe inside face of the wall. The next step is to :apply uprightreinforcing rods to the inside face of the wall and press them into thescratch coat before it sets, after which a damp-proofing coating ofplaster is applied to the outside face of the wall. The next step is toapply additional plaster to the inside face of the wall so as to coverover the reinforcing rods which are exposed at the inner face of thewall.

In the drawings, the concrete footing is shown at 20, a portion of theconcrete floor at 21, the first course of blocks at 22, the secondcourse at 23, the top course at 24, the reinforcing rods at 25, thefirst coat of plaster in which the rods are embedded at 26, and thesecond or finishing coat at 27. The water-proofing coating at the outerface of the wall is shown at 28. On the uppermost course 24 is laid asill 29. Resting on the sill 29 are floor joists 30 of which only twoare shown in Fig. 1.

After the footing 20 has been provided, the first block course 22 isplaced upon it, using a suitable mortar which forms a layer 31 betweenthe footing and the superposed On' this layer the blocks are placed soas to be in line, with each block level and plumb. The blocks used :areof the kind mentioned previously, each having a planar face 32 at oneend and a face 33 at the opposite end which is provided with avertically extending channel 34, and the upper and lower faces beingground as mentioned hereinafter. In this particular form of block, thebody of the block is provided with cells or openings extending from topto bottom and of the profile shown in the drawings. As shown in Fig. 4,the.

blocks in this course are set'encl to end and their adjacent ends are incontact with each other, but without laid. These, like those of thefirst course, are blocks differing from ordinary concrete blocks in thatthey have upper and lower surfaces which are ground with great precisionso as to smooth them and insure the accurate parallelism of their upperand lower surfaces and insure also that these surfaces are at rightangles to the vertical axis of the block. These blocks of the secondcourse, therefore, when placed upon those of the first course in directcontact, that is, Without any intervening mortar, provide a course ofblocks which are directed accurately horizontally and in end to endcontact, with each block level and plumb; and then the third course islaid on the second course in a similar manner and this procedure iscontinued until the uppermost course 24 has been placed in position. Theblocks are in the usual staggered relationship, as shown.

The blocks of the course 24 have their upper surfaces cut away topresent in each block a discontinuous channel 35 disposed in thelongitudinal median line of the block. These channels of the blocksreceive a longitudinal sill or bonding member 36 which, in this example,is of con- Crete. The sill has embedded therein a longitudinal reiJfOIQing rod 37 which extends through the length of the sill. Alsoembedded in the sill are a number of upright rod-like anchoring members33 which project from the upper surface of the sill and are used foranchoring a floor structure, for example, by being connected to a Woodensill 29. Before the body of concrete 36 is placed in position in theblocks, a piece of tar-paper 39, or other suitable material, is placedin the channel portions 35 to receive the wet concrete and, upon dryingof this concrete, the concrete in the channels will form a continuousbeam or bonding member which will bond together all of the blocks in theuppermost course.

It is preferred to apply the coating 26 first, consisting of cementmixed with sand to form a plaster. The rods 25 are then placed inposition and pressed into the coating 26 before the latter sets, so asto be partially embedded. The form of the reinforcing members 25 mayvary, but it is preferred to employ straight steel rods, the upper endportions of which are bent at a right angle, as shown at 25*, so as toprovide a short portion by which the rod before being embedded will besuspended from the upper edge of the wall. The lower ends of the rods,which may be straight, will preferably extend almost to the mortar jointbetween the footing and the first course of blocks. The next step is toapply the waterproofing coating 28, and finally the coating 27 isapplied. This coating is usually slightly thicker than the coating 26and is sulficient to cover fully the reinforcing rods, and in the finalstructure these reinforcing rods are embedded in the coating in themanner shown in Fig. 4. The rods 25 are laterally spaced from each otherat a suitable distance. In the example shown, the rods are about sixinches apart, but obviously variation in this respect may be made aswell as in others.

In using this procedure in erecting two walls meeting at a corner, it isadvisable at least in some cases to re inforce the wall at the pointwhere the two sections meet in order to insure against dislocation ofthe blocks. This is shown by way of example in Figs. 7 and 8 of thedrawing. Here the corner formed by the meeting of the two walls isindicated at 40, and a block which has a corner location in one wallsection lies over a block in the adjacent wall section in the customarymanner. The blocks being used in this instance are cellular blocks ofthe type indicated above. A corner block in one course has a cell oropening registering at least in part with that of a block in the nextcourse, as shown in Fig. 8. This permits the upright opening providedclose to the corner to be filled with a body of mortar or concrete asindicated for example at 41 in Fig. 8 and this will act by its weight toanchor the blocks against displacement out of the positions in whichthey have been set even before the body 41 begins to harden and, in thismanner, the formation of a corner from the ground blocks laid againsteach other in the manner described will be facilitated. This sameprocedure may also be employed where a dooropening or the like is to beprovided in the wall, and in Fig. 7 there is indicated at 42 alateralmargin of a door-opening. In this case also a body of mortar orconcrete may be placed in several blocks having intercommunicatingopenings or cells, the anchoring body in this case being indicated at43.

In practice, the steel rods have been relatively light so-called pencilrods having a cross-sectional area of, say, 0.038 square inch. Thescratch coat of mortar on the inner side of the wall has had a thicknessof inch and the finishing mortar a thickness of Vs inch,these dimensionsbeing given only by way of example.

A construction as previously described has been demonstrated to offersurprisingly high resistance to pressure such as exerted by thesurrounding soil against a foundation wall. Due to the steel rodsembedded in the mortar on the inside face of the wall, the wall sectionis in the nature of a reinforced concrete slab of wall section widthspanning from basement floor to first floor. The outer shells of theconcrete blocks act as the flanges of T-beams to take the compressiondue to soil pressure; the pencil rods function as the tensilereinforcement in ordinary T-beam design. The mortar coating in which therods are embedded serves to protect them from corrosion, provideslateral integrity to the wall, and bonds the reinforcement to theconcrete blocks.

It is understood that in the wall structure, as herein described, thesecond course of blocks has the lower surfaces of its blocks in directbearing contact with the upper surface of the first course blocks sothat the bearing surface of a lower block is responsible for thepositioning of the block next above. Thus it is apparent that theprecise positioning of the first course, as above described, which isaccomplished, among other things, by tapping the blocks into theunderlying mortar so that their upper surfaces will be exactly level, isof great importance. This part of the work should be done by a qualifiedmason for it is apparent that an error at this stage would be compoundedin the laying of additional courses. The need for precision in theelimination of the customary horizontal mortar joints is such that it isconsidered desirable in the practice of the present method to have theupper and lower surfaces of the blocks ground to true planes within atolerance of 0.007 of an inch. This signifies a substantial change inthe character of the rectangular concrete block formed in a mold by themethods customary in the trade. As far as the end joints between theblocks are concerned, there is no difficulty in laying the blocks sothat their adjacent ends are in contact or substantially so. In thismethod of procedure, moreover, while it is of the greatest importance tohave the upper and lower bearing surfaces formed very accurately, otherparts of the block do not have such importance from the structuralstandpoint, and blocks having slight defects in other portions can beused, especially where the defects will be covered over in the completedwall. For example, if an end face of a block is slightly chipped, thismay be remedied by the application of mortar if such treatment seem tobe indicated.

The construction described makes it possible to erect a foundation wallwhich is very strong and highly resistant to soil pressure and whichemploys blocks of smaller lateral dimension than those customarily usedin foundation walls under the same conditions. Together with theseadvantages, the procedure has the notable advantage that less skilledlabor is necessary in erecting the wall than has been requiredheretofore, and also that the external faces of the blocks being in thisparticular case of so-called clapboard design. Each block has an exposedface which is on a downward and outward taper so as to have a slightoverhang at the bottom, giving with other blocks the effect of woodclapboards. In this form also, the blocks have accurately ground upperand lower faces as in the form first described. The tapered or inclinedfaces referred to above are indicated at 44. These blocks are laid as inthe form first described. As before, mortar is not used between courses,but in this particular case, it is of advantage, in view of the factthat the external faces of the blocks are not to be coated or otherwisecovered, to place mortar, indicated at 45, in the end channels 46 of theblocks so as to interconnect the blocks. The inner face of the wall istreated in the same way as in the first form, pencil rods 47 beingemployed, embedded between a scratch coat 48 and a finishing coat 49 ofa plaster containing hydraulic cement.

In the broader aspects of the invention, the particular form of theblock with its smooth upper and lower loadbearing surfaces, can beconsiderably varied. In more specific aspects, it is of distinctadvantage to employ a block having one planar end and one channeled end,the block having cells or compartments which extend through the block ina vertical direction, the structure being such as to provide anenclosing shell disposed about two or more cells or compartments. Thecells are used for providing air spaces and for reducing the weight ofthe block and the reinforcement which is given the wall structure forthe purpose of resisting lateral pressure, is external to the blocks soas not to interfere with the air cell provisions. In a block of thistype, the ground hearing surfaces are those of the block shell whichextend around the air cells including the transverse septum or septumswhich are a part of the block structure.

The upright reinforcing rods, as will be noted, are not pretensioned andare a part of a composite reinforcing layer applied to the Wall face,which layer does not present a tension member until the Wall issubjected to pressure in a lateral direction from one side, such as isexerted by soil pressure or wind pressure. It is, of course, apparentthat in the external reinforcing layer the steel rods are the elementswhich are tensioned to resist bending or buckling of the wall. In afoundation wall, for example, the soil at the outer side of the wallexerts a considerable bending movement if the base of the wall isconsiderably below grade and under such conditions the reinforcementprovided by the steel rods enables the wall, when properly constructed,to take a very heavy load.

It is to be understood that the forms of the structure herein describedare by way of example only and that various changes in the procedure andin the wall construction may be made without departure from theprinciples of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a masonry wall suitable for use as a foundation wall of a buildingand subject to pressure of an outstanding body of soil, the combinationof an elongated belowgrade footing having a substantially level uppersurface and having a layer of mortar applied to said surface, a firstcourse of rectangular cellular blocks having their lower parts set insaid mortar layer, said blocks having precisely ground planar uppersurfaces positioned so that they are precisely level, the blocks of saidcourse being abutted at their adjacent ends without interbonding, a

second course of rectangular cellular blocks having precisely groundupper and lower surfaces precisely parallel to each other of which thelower surfaces are in bearing contact with the upper surfaces of thefirst course blocks,

third and additional courses being precisely ground blocks similar tothose of said second course and laid in a similar manner, the blocks ofthe uppermost course being cut away at their upper faces to providelengthwise channels, a lengthwise continuous bonding member anchored insaid channels so that said uppermost course of blocks forms a beam atthe upper boundary of the wall section extending through the width ofthe wall section, a cementitious coating on the exterior face of thewall section presented by said blocks, which exterior face is at thatside or face of the wall disposed toward the interior of the building,and a plurality of laterally spaced rod-like elements extendingsubstantially throughout the height of the wall section embedded in saidcementitious coating, which'rod-like elements are subject to tensionwhen the wall section is subjected to tensioning lateral and inwardpressure by an outstanding body of soil.

2. In a building wall suitable for use as a foundation wall subject tolateral and inward pressure from an exterior body of soil, thecombination of an elongated below-grade footing, a plurality of coursesof rectangular blocks with open ended vertical cells superimposed onsaid footing, said blocks having upper and lower surfaces preciselyground so that said surfaces are smooth and accurately parallel to eachother, the first course of blocks being set in a layer of mortar on saidfooting and being so placed that said blocks are plumb and their uppersurfaces precisely level, the upper surfaces of said blocks directlycontacting the lower surfaces of the blocks of the second course and theblocks of the several courses having bearing contact by and throughtheir precisely ground surfaces, the blocks of all of said courseshaving adjacent ends in contact with each other without interbonding ofthe blocks in a course except for the uppermost course, the blocks ofsaid uppermost course being provided at their upper faces withlengthwise channels, a continuous bonding member extending through thewidth of the wall section anchored in said channels of the upper mostcourse blocks so as to form from said blocks a bonding beam at the upperboundary of the wall. section, laterally spaced upright rod-likereinforcing members fixed to the wall section exteriorly of the blocksat that side of the wall section facing toward the interior of thebuilding, said members extending substantially throughout the height ofthe wall section, and a cementitious coating applied to the inwardlyfacing surface of the wall section the blocks of said second coursehaving adjacent ends in abutting relationship without interbonding, athird and additional courses of superimposed blocks reaching to a levelsubs tantially above said footing, the blocks of said and embedding saidmembers,said wall section being of slab-like nature and said uprightmembers being reinforcing tension members for the slab-like section.

3. In a masonry wall suitable for use as a foundation wall of a buildingand subject to pressure of an outstanding body of soil, the combinationof an elongated belowgrade footing having a substantially level uppersurface, a first course of rectangular cellular blocks supported on saidfooting, said blocks having precisely ground planar upper surfaces andbeing positioned and fixed to said footing so that said upper surfacesare precisely level, a second, third, and additional courses ofrectangular cellular blocks having precisely ground upper and lowersurfaces precisely parallel to each other and supported upon the blocksof said first course with the ground surfaces of the blocks of saidcourses in load-bearing contact, the blocks of all of said courseshaving adjacent ends in abutting relationship without interbonding, anuppermost course of blocks on one of said additional courses formed attheir upper parts to provide lengthwise channels, a lengthwisecontinuous bonding member anchored in said channels so that saiduppermost course of blocks with said bonding member forms a beam at theupper boundary of the wall section, and laterally spaced upright rodlikereinforcing members fixed to the wall section exteriorly of the blocksat that side of the wall section facing toward the interior of thebuilding, said members extending substantially throughout the height ofsaid wall section, said wall section being of slab-like nature and saidupright members being tension members for the slablike section.

4. The structure defined in claim 3, in which said upright rod-likereinforcing members have offset upper ends engaged with said bondingbeam so that said members are suspended from said beam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 8Peters Sept. 21, 1915 Lewis Aug. 10, 1937 Whitacre Dec. 14, 1937 BriscoeOct. 24, 1939 Kerr y July 16, 1940 Paolella et al Jan. 3, 1950 ZagrayDec. 7, 1954 Schels May 17, 1955 OTHER REFERENCES pages 96 and 97.

